"Gert and Daisy" were two London sisters who formed a comedy act in the 1930's and then performed on stage and on the wireless. They are remembered chiefly for the work they did during the war, during which time they also made three films. They were Elsie and Doris Waters and their brother was also a performer - Jack Warner.

The film "It's in the Bag" (1944) was lost for many years and most of it turned up recently - it's missing the main title and about another 15 or so minutes from the beginning.

Ostensibly, the film is about the sisters trying to retrieve a dress their Grandma gave them - and which they gave away. They need to get it back because the bustle in it contained two thousand pounds.

The comedy is broad and somewhat amusing, and the scenes shift locale in rapid succession so the viewer is never given time to get too bored. Gert and Daisy throw in a couple of uplifting numbers for good measure and we get to see some cameos by Esme Cannon and Irene Handl.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

Christopher Plummer has the time of his life portraying the late Kaiser Wilhelm II in a good and exciting war time drama entitled "The Exception" (2016).

It is probably a load of old codswallop but it is interesting nevertheless. The story is that the Nazis are worried that there could be a spy in the ex-Kaiser's household and they send a young Kapitan (Aussie - Jai Courtney) there to head up security. The blighter of course soon falls for a Dutch maid (Lily James) on the staff and gives excuse for the picture to then concentrate on filling two or three reels with romantic type stuff.

The portrayal of the ex-Kaiser is probably somewhat accurate. He was still blustering and at times ill-tempered and trying to blame everyone else for losing the Great War. He was though, basically a gentleman of the old school and is finding the Nazis a rather uncouth lot - but he has to deal with them because they pay for his rather lavish upkeep in exile.

The ex-Kaiserin (Janet McTeer) - who was The Kaiser's second wife, is off with the fairies, firmly believing that the Nazis will restore her husband to his thrones.

There is a chilling undercurrent running through the film and this reaches something of a climax when the sewer Himmler (Eddie Marsan) arrives for a visit. He discusses rather routinely over dinner, the methods the Nazis will employ for doing away with "defective people".

The young Major eventually finds out who the spy is and has to make a decision. Will he be the exception to the rule in how he deals with the situation?

This is a well thought out picture and deals with an aspect of a war situation - the ex-Kaiser of Germany living in exile in the occupied Netherlands. The only problem I had was that the ending was basically in cloud-cuckoo land, but I suppose if you are writing fiction you might as well go the whole hog.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

I have watched English adaptions of Georges Simenon's novels about the detective "Maigret" and thought it about time I looked at a French version seeing the whole business is French. The one that I found lying about was "Maigret et L'affaire Saint Fiacre" which was made in 1959 - round about the period the novels were set. Playing himself was none other than Jean Gabin but I don't think he was given all that much opportunity to effect a lot of the mannerisms of the character that we have seen others employ. Or maybe he just decided to downplay the role?

The story is a bit lack lustre too and is slowly paced. An old countess in the village in which Maigret grew up has received a death threat and Maigret being a friend of the family has gone to her chateau to investigate. The countess' staff are all a bit dodgy and that view is sustained by the fact that the chateau is in a sorry state owing to nearly having all the furniture sold off to maintain a few centimes in the bank.

Anyway, the countess carks it and everyone thinks it a heart attack until Maigret puts on his thinking cap and starts to employ the little grey cells.

Valentine Tessier is the Countess and Michel Auclair is her son and heir, the Count - two of the cast who are a bit convincing. The others are pretty much so-so.

Gabin made some other Maigret films and I will attempt to watch them sometime before I finally judge whether he was any good at it.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

Children of Chance (1930) is a pretty dismal picture which I had great trouble in following. Elissa Landi plays two women who look very much alike, but I couldn't follow who was what where and why? Anyway, one of the women she is playing is alright and is a chorus girl or something, while the other is a famous model and a jewel thief into the bargain.

Mabel Poulton, who was famous in silents is a bit of fun as Elissa's friend Sally. John Stuart is Gordon who is following Elissa around, John Longden is the bad woman's crime boss, Wallace Lupino - Gad! Not another of the family! - Parades around letting everyone think he is a Hollywood film director (he's not), Hannah Jones is an obligatory landlady and Gus Sharland is a police sergeant who's scenes should have been deleted.

A redeeming feature in the film is Elissa singing "He's My Secret Passion" but really, the whole film needs to be re-edited into a format which might make the very complicated story a little easier to follow - if anyone could be bothered.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

Ostensibly, the film is about the sisters trying to retrieve a dress their Grandma gave them - and which they gave away. They need to get it back because the bustle in it contained two thousand pounds.

Which sounds like it was inspired by the same thing as the 1945 It's in The Bag! with Fred Allen—the Russian comic novel The Twelve Chairs, in the West most famously filmed by Mel Brooks.

“Sentimentality is when it doesn't come off—when it does, you get a true expression of life's sorrows.” —Alain-Fournier

"Joy Ride" (1935) is a rollicking good farce. The type of thing that has unfortunately gone out of style now and thus we are the poorer for being deprived of good humour.

Leading proceedings are Gene Gerrard and Paul Blake who would come under the heading of complete and utter good-for-nothings who are mixed up with a pair of chorine sisters (Zelma O'Neal) and (Betty Ann Davies) and who are trying to keep any association with the fillies under wraps from an Uncle and Aunt (Charles Sewell and Amy Veness) whilst having turned up unexpectedly at the country seat of these uptight relatives.

Throw into the mixture a cad of a butler called String (Gus McNaughton), a Duchess who is opening a fete (Violet Vanbrugh), the usually timid vicar (Vernon Harris) and the love of his life, a pince-nezed blue stocking secretary aptly named Miss Prune (Cynthia Stock) and you have all the ingredients for quite a romp.

I suppose one could say that the type of characters displayed here have been caricatured over and over and have thus become cliched in a way, but I don't think one can have quite enough and in this film when it came out, they must have seemed quite new on the horizon.

They are some delicious moments in the film and the lines delivered at times are corkers. One of the dilettantes eyeing up a rather amply avoirdupoised madame about to seat herself, gentlemanly offers "Let me pull you out a chair, or two."

Everything in this film is to be expected and that is why it is so satisfying and mirth-filled. probably a lot of people would not see its charms, but who cares, I liked it.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

A whole lot of Hollywood people finding themselves in England decided to band together and put on a show - or a make a picture together. What resulted is "I Spy" (1934) starring Ben Lyon and Sally Eilers, directed by Alan Dwan.

This film has one of those silly plots in it but that is all excused by the fact that a fictitious country is involved and therefore they can get away with it. Actually it's quite funny and I think it was meant to be seen as a comedy more than anything else.

The film doesn't really explain who Ben Lyon is supposed to be, but anyway he mistakenly gets himself mixed up with a lot of spies, a beautiful countess and some soldiers who are about to shoot them both. I won't go into it any further as it would only confuse you.

In an early scene, Ben is waking up to find himself at the wrong address. His cabbie is with him in the room and is still expecting his fare. He is none other than Harry Tate. This was the first time I had seen Mr. Tate on film and he looked much younger than I had imagined him after enjoying those wonderful gramophone records such as "Motoring", "Running an Office" and "The German Commissionaire". It was a pity he wasn't given a better role and a bit more to do.

Andrews Engelmann also has some jolly good scenes in the film where he is "put upon" by Ben and thus has the ability to cause quite a ruckus. He also turns out to be the Kommandant of a prison later in the picture where Ben and Sally are being held.

A whole lot of enjoyable nonsense.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

"Before Midnight" (1933) is interesting because Claude Gillingwater is in it playing a very straight role - far away from his usual characterisations. Ralph Bellamy is the star as a detective who has to unravel a mystery at a bleak house somewhere in the country. As per usual it's a stormy night and everyone is a little strange.

This is a run of the mill whodunnit, but like most of them, one watches it avidly until the end in order to see whodunnit.

June Collyer and Betty Blythe provide some female glamour and Otto Yamaoka plays an arch-typical Japanese servant. Lambert Hillyer directed for Columbia Pictures.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

The Sense of an Ending (2017) is an excellent look at how we look at our own lives through our own filters. Of course the film is British. Jim Broadbent gives a thoughtful performance as a retired man who gets a letter about an inheritance. It starts him thinking about his school days, early loves, old friendships. He seems detached from his pregnant daughter and ex-wife, yet he decides to track down his first flame (Charlotte Rampling). He's in for a few discoveries that don't quite shatter his life but make him see things differently and partly understand the filters he (and everyone) uses every day. Based on a novel by Julian Barnes, this probably qualified as a small film but it's very well done and keeps you guessing. Harriet Walter, Michelle Dockery, Emily Mortimer, James Wilby, Matthew Goode and some young actors playing the stars in flashbacks.

Ostensibly, the film is about the sisters trying to retrieve a dress their Grandma gave them - and which they gave away. They need to get it back because the bustle in it contained two thousand pounds.

Which sounds like it was inspired by the same thing as the 1945 It's in The Bag! with Fred Allen—the Russian comic novel The Twelve Chairs, in the West most famously filmed by Mel Brooks.

An earlier British film version is the George Formby comedy Keep Your Seats, Please (1936) which even has a title song.

I don't have a high opinion of Edward G. Ulmer, who strikes me as a good visual stylist -- The Naked Dawn (1955), which played on TCM last night, is lit like a bullfighting poster. However, he had a tin ear and his great artistic ability was coming in cheap, whether it was a stylish studio effort, like The Black Cat, or a porn movie in which he cast his daughter. I'm not making up the latter. While I haven't seen it myself, a friend who hunts Ulmer's movies obsessively told me about his conversations with the daughter about it.

In any case, Arthur Kennedy is a bandito who wanders onto the farm owned by peons Eugenie Iglesias and Betta St. John. Everyone gives moderate-length speeches, and everyone's life is changed. Kennedy does well with his speeches, despite apparently having Mel Blanc voice-coaching him as Speedy Gonzalez. Betta St. John yearns for something to happen and breaks crockery to make it happen. Iglesias vacillates between goodness and greed.

It's a three-person play set in Mexico from a Gogol story -- I assume, set originally in Russia. Admirers of Ulmer will admire it. I think it's an ok programmer.

Bob

Last edited by boblipton on Thu Jun 08, 2017 6:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been there. Pretty cool place. The people who live there? They love it. They’re nuts.”

Donald Binks wrote:It's good to see that Aussie films are well received in Canada. By the same token I enjoy some Canadian films - even the ones done in French!

I've always loved Australian films, going back to teen viewings of My Brilliant Career, the first two Mad Max movies and Peter Weir's The Cars That Ate Paris/People. But then I fell in love with a Perth girl, and our Aussie movie collection has grown exponentially.

I've even been lucky enough to interview both Weir and Bruce Beresford on different occasions. Terrific filmmakers, the two of them.

Donald Binks wrote:You are right too that there were a string of good Aussie comedies made in the 80's and 90's. They reminded me in some way of the Ealing comedies due to their good ensemble casting. Trouble is, a lot of them are hard to see nowadays. One of my favourite character actors from this period was the late Paul Chubb who sadly left us at far too early an age.

I've seen Chubb in Dirty Deeds and Cosi, and looking him up on IMDb I see he was in the comedy Bliss with Barry Otto, which I saw when it played theatres (even had a copy of the poster at one point), but haven't been able to see since. He's also in The Coca Cola Kid, which I've been wanting to see, but is woefully out-of-print on DVD in these parts.

R Michael Pyle wrote:I watched "The Invisible Killer" (1939) with Grace Bradley and Roland Drew and others. Absolutely impossible nonsense, especially the beginning; utterly improbable from beginning to end; and totally, utterly fun!! Bradley is so wonderful. Her scene in the automobile at the beginning doesn't just have a tongue in the cheek - it has cheek as its tongue sticks out at the audience. Loved it. Not made on the cheap; made on the impossible to finance...[...]Both prints are from Alpha. Both are ok - that means fair to good. A few skips here and there, but nothing major. I thought they were half-way decent. I've watched a whole, whole lot worse, especially from Alpha!

This is from last year's thread, but I watched The Invisible Killer recently as well (for the second time), and was wondering if the scene with David Oliver at the typewriter is as mangled and illegible in the Alpha DVD as it is in the Mill Creek version. The sound in the Mill Creek version is also horrific -- so muffled and hard to make out.

Back on topic (since TIK is technically the second-to-last film I watched):

My wife and I watched The Phantom this past weekend, and found it excruciatingly dull, slow, and incoherent. I know some folks have an affection for this one, but other than William Jackie's bizarre performance as Oscar, we didn't enjoy a thing about it. (Well, the opening sequence was pretty engaging too.) The Bat and The Ghost Walks are far more engaging versions of similar material.

After struggling through some two-thirds of THE BARBARIAN (1933), the upload packed up, so I didn't try any more. Aside from some rather risque bits with Myrna Loy's underwear and a bath scene it was pretty hard going, though Louise Closser Hale was amusing in one of her last roles.

I fell back on the Little Rascals, who usually amuse. A TOUGH WINTER (1930) has Stepin Fetchit coping with their antics, particularly when Mary Ann and Wheezer attempt some radio-aided cookery. MOAN & GROAN INC (1929) has cop Edgar Kennedy suggest they try digging for treasure. Heading off to a deserted house, they encounter Max Davidson, who is more than a little cuckoo. One scene of his treating Farina and Pete to an invisible meal is clearly a warm-up for the mad meal in OLIVER THE EIGHTH. And that nearly forty years before Antonioni...

Was going to settle for just the two when my cat decided to settle on my leg, so couldn't disturb her... LOVE BUSINESS (1930) has Wheezer grumbling about being kissed by Jackie (Cooper) on account of his being (understandably) in love with Miss Crabtree. Chubby is also smitten. Things get more bothersome when Miss Crabtree decides to lodge with them, meaning they have to learn how to behave! Unfortunately their kitchen is one of those where mothballs are kept above the stove where the soup is busy simmering. For me, the funniest of the three, with good interplay between Cooper, Wheezer and Mary Ann, and June Marlowe doing her best to keep a straight face amongst the goings-on...

Dreaming Lips (1937): Elizabeth Berger has an affair with Raymond Massey -- he's a Spanish violinist -- but realizes she loves her husband, Romney Brent -- who reminds me a good deal of Rex Harrison (or perhaps the other way around) -- in her husband, Paul Czinner's movie version of a play by Henri Bernstein.

While Massey is surprisingly good in a romantic role, and Brent is quite good, if a tad whiny, Miss Berger is annoying. She certainly could act, but she plays her character playing with the men in her life like a six-year-old making up a story about her dolls. It's a pity, because there is a lot to admire in this film, including its brisk pace of story-telling (David Lean was the editor) and some fine lighting by Lee Garmes.

Czinner was clearly a man in love with his wife, but his attempt to make her a competitor to Greta Garbo failed, not because she was a poor actress -- she wasn't -- but because ... well, she lacked that mysterious something that makes someone a real star. American studios could manufacture stars by careful management. Those resources were not available to Czinner and Berger. So it was back to the stage for her, where she did very well.

Bob

Last edited by boblipton on Thu Jun 08, 2017 5:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been there. Pretty cool place. The people who live there? They love it. They’re nuts.”

boblipton wrote:Dreaming Lips (1937): Elizabeth Berger has an affair with Raymond Massey -- he's a Spanish violinist -- but realizes she loves her husband, Romney Brent -- who reminds me a good deal of Rex Harrison (or perhaps the other way around) 00 in her husband, Paul Czinner's movie version of a play by Henri Bernstein.

While Massey is surprisingly good in a romantic role, and Brent is quite good, if a tad whiny, Miss Berger is annoying. She certainly could act, but she plays her character like a six-year-old playing with the men in her life like she is making up a story about her dolls. It's a pity, because there is a lot to admire in this film, including its brisk pace of story-telling (David Lean was the editor) and some fine light by Lee Garmes. Czinner was clearly a man in love with his wife, but his attempt to make her a competitor to Greta Garbo failed, not because she was a poor actress -- she wasn't -- but because ... well, she lacked that mysterious something that makes someone a real star. American studios could manufacture stars by careful management. Those resources were not available to Czinner and Berger. So it was back to the stage for her, where she did very well.

Bob

I've for Bergner strange and annoying in every film i've seen her in. And i haven't even seen Dreaming Lips.

This morning I cleared off the last of this month's Disney nights on TCM, with Hacksaw (1971).

Susan Bracken takes a camping trip to the Canadian Rockies with her father, George Barrows. There, she and handsome rancher Tab Hunter capture a mustang called Hacksaw. Hacksaw in unridable, but otherwise pretty calm, so he is trained as a packhorse and, eventually for the Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Race.

Director and co-writer Larry Lansbugh demonstrates his usual mix of strengths and weaknesses. He's got a great eye for scenery and animals in motion, but his dialogue direction is weak. While the more skilled actors -- including narrator Ray Teal -- do well with their lines, some of the minor players sound very stilted.

The print that I viewed on TCM last night showed some artifacts from its origins, including some distortion from its original TV showing -- the 550-line scan is evident in several shots. On the other hand, the color is brilliantly saturated, showing what wonders Technicolor could provide, even as other producers abandoned it for the cheaper and less stable chemical processes.

Bob

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been there. Pretty cool place. The people who live there? They love it. They’re nuts.”

I watched The Private Secretary (1935), which Bob Lipton has talked about. British farce, with a few extraneous outdoor scenes, stars Edward Everett Horton as a priss in a story of mistaken identities. I thought it was very funny though it's all been done before. Horton is some sort of low-level clergyman who gets a job as a private secretary but is assumed to be (by an uncle from India) a spendthrift nephew. Meanwhile the spendthrift (Barry MacKay) is assumed to be the secretary and lands at a country estate where his boss' daughter (Judy Gunn) seems to be the only one who knows the score. There's also a subplot concerning a seance. After getting burned to a crisp in my convertible ride to the coast, this is just what I was in the mood for. Oscar Asche, Sydney Fairbrother, Davina Craig, Michael Shepley, O.B. Clarence, and Alastair Sim in a small role.

Donald Binks wrote:Children of Chance (1930) is a pretty dismal picture which I had great trouble in following. Elissa Landi plays two women who look very much alike, but I couldn't follow who was what where and why? Anyway, one of the women she is playing is alright and is a chorus girl or something, while the other is a famous model and a jewel thief into the bargain.

Mabel Poulton, who was famous in silents is a bit of fun as Elissa's friend Sally. John Stuart is Gordon who is following Elissa around, John Longden is the bad woman's crime boss, Wallace Lupino - Gad! Not another of the family! - Parades around letting everyone think he is a Hollywood film director (he's not), Hannah Jones is an obligatory landlady and Gus Sharland is a police sergeant who's scenes should have been deleted.

A redeeming feature in the film is Elissa singing "He's My Secret Passion" but really, the whole film needs to be re-edited into a format which might make the very complicated story a little easier to follow - if anyone could be bothered.

Will have to seek this one out. Having to do a bit of budgeting I thought I'd wait a bit, especially as there is a waiting list...

THE YELLOW TEDDY BEARS / GUTTER GIRLS (1963) was based on reports in the press that some schoolgirls were wearing the golliwogs* from Robertson's jam / marmalade as a sign that they had lost their virginity. This film features Jacqueline Ellis as a science mistress who discovers that the rather chunky teddies some girls are sporting is a sign that they are no longer virgins. It centres round two girls, played by Annette Whiteley and Georgina Patterson. Whiteley discovers she is pregnant, and is torn between the idea of an abortion (with a dubious method of payment) and the dread of telling her parents, who seem highly incompatible.

I must confess to nearly giving up on the film as the first half hour was very boring, with an endless swimming competition and a dance scene which seemed much too long to name two examples. It gathers interest when we follow the misfortunes of the pregnant girl who (SPOILER) get a lift to London and with the somewhat theatrical last section where the teacher (who has told her class that she isn't a virgin, despite being unmarried) and the senior teachers and governors who are mainly against her. This is probably due to some familiar faces (which I couldn't put names to), headed by the ever-reliable Raymond Huntley. Although the film is of an exploitative nature, there is a serious side to it, which may just be there to help it pass the censors. This last part is pure drama and debate and seems oddly out of place, despite livening the film up considerably. Uploaded in Academy ratio.

Since Binky likes the Wodehouse-style British Upper Class Twit style of comedy, he should take a look at A Warm Corner (1930).

1930 was a rough year for British talkies. They were just moving out of the silent era, so even cameraman Freddie Francis was limited in his camera movements. Even with that handicap, director Victor Saville works with a funny script and some great comedy actors. It all starts in Venice, where Heather Thatcher is secretly married to Austin Melford, whose uncle, Alfred Wellesley, wants him to marry Belle Chrystall, daughter of his old school chum, Leslie Henson. Henson's wife, however, has contracted with Toni Edgar-Bruce, former barmaid and now aristocratic marriage broker, to marry poor aristocrat Kim Peacock. Add in a few subplots like Melford and Miss Thatcher pulling a badger game on Henson for cash to get them out of Venice, and you have a tangled comic mess.

It's all tied together with some bright lines and some beautiful comic timing. Henson is particularly good. He does a telephone routine as good as anything Bob Newhart ever did. It's a three-set stage show opened up a bit for the movie theater, but it works exceedingly well.

Bob

Last edited by boblipton on Tue Jun 27, 2017 6:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been there. Pretty cool place. The people who live there? They love it. They’re nuts.”

Caught the George Lazenby documentary, Becoming Bond, and enjoyed it immensely. It's not much film-wise but it's a great story - that was a complete mystery to me - and is irresistible. Pretty much just George telling his tale with some fanciful recreations, but it kept my attention the entire time and filled in a chunk of movie history for me.

For some reason I've scrupulously avoided On Her Majesty's Secret Service up 'til now, that is going to change straight away.

oldposterho wrote:Caught the George Lazenby documentary, Becoming Bond, and enjoyed it immensely. It's not much film-wise but it's a great story - that was a complete mystery to me - and is irresistible. Pretty much just George telling his tale with some fanciful recreations, but it kept my attention the entire time and filled in a chunk of movie history for me.

For some reason I've scrupulously avoided On Her Majesty's Secret Service up 'til now, that is going to change straight away.

Also just watched this doco recently and was quite absorbed by it. Often wondered why he only made the one Bond picture.You should enjoy OHMSS as there are some delicious throw-away lines in it.

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

boblipton wrote:Since Binky likes the Wodehouse-style British Upper Class Twit style of comedy, he should take a look at A Warm Corner (1930).Bob

(Carruthers here for Binky's household). You really shouldn't be suggesting that himself should be collecting any more DVD's! He's got the whole house full of the blessed things! I'm blowed if I know when he is going to get around to looking at all the unwatched ones he's currently got in little piles everywhere. The maids are sick of dusting them! But, I'll let him know about this picture since you were so kind as to point it out.)

Regards fromDonald Binks

"So, she said: "Elly, it's no use letting Lou have the sherry glasses..."She won't appreciate them,she won't polish them..."You know what she's like." So I said:..."

The movie my cousin and I saw this morning was My Cousin Rachel, starring Rachel Weisz as Rachel... but not Rachel Weisz. Based on the Daphne DuMaurier novel, it concerns Sam Clafin, who was raised by his misogynistic cousin. The cousin falls ill and is shipped off to sunny Italy to recover. Imagine Sam's surprise when he writes about how he has fallen in love and married. Further letters take a darker, paranoid turn, and when he goes to Italy to investigate, his cousin is dead and his wife has disappeared. Sam returns to England to resume the life he has envisioned, when up pops Rachel Weisz, who quickly charms the dogs and then him. He gives her everything, then develops his own dark suspicions about the tisanes she gives him to drink.

It's a movie, my cousin and I agreed, after a while in the dark, that was admirable, if only it showed any sign of getting on with it. Set during the Regency, it offers beautiful clothes and country scenery, and a typically fine performance by Miss Weisz. After the first eight months of sitting in the theater, I commented on its slow, slow pace to my cousin. After a year or two it ended. Imagine my surprise when we got out and discovered that through some time-warp effect, it was only a couple of hours!

After I got home and got some sleep, I looked at Car of Dreams (1935), a musical directed by Graham Cutts and Austin Melford. It concerns John Mills, the son of a wealthy musical-instrument manufacturer, who is tired of all the young women who admire him for his money. When he is in a Rolls-Royce show room, purchasing a car for a trip, in walks Grete Misheim, a recent hire at his father's company. She has a habit of going into shops and pretending to want to purchase things she can't afford. Mills falls with her instantly and has the car sent around to her as a promotion from Rolls. The usual mistaken-identity tropes ensue.

Mr. Mills sings a couple of songs adequately and Miss Mosheim struggles to maintain a accent that is half posh stage-English and half her native German. Robertson Hare offers one of his boring-funny performances as an instrument tester. While there are some amusing bits, it's pretty much a forgettable trifle.

Bob

Last edited by boblipton on Tue Jun 27, 2017 6:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been there. Pretty cool place. The people who live there? They love it. They’re nuts.”

Thank you, greta de groat, for pointing me in the direction of COSMIC VOYAGE (1935), a Russian silent aimed at children, but with a high entertainment value. The film starts off with two space workers (a pretty young girl and her boyfriend) being ordered to stop a famous inventor (a sort of cross between Father Christmas and Professor Challenger) from commandeering a moon rocket on account of the fact that he may be off his coconut. The boyfriend's young brother, despite being ordered to go to school, is on the professor's side, and the fun begins - very fast indeed.

Despite attempts to stop them, as well as the attempts by the professor's wife to fill his suitcase with unsuitable clothing, the voyage starts in earnest...

Admittedly the characters are drawn simply, but that is part of the appeal. The film is very well paced, with nimble camerawork and some very nice model work, as well as a selection of well-chosen music. There is, admittedly, a thin undercurrent of propaganda, but this does not spoil a lively yarn. Oh, and of course there is a cat in it, which makes a bow in the rousing finale.